September 23, 2012 - Seeing Through the Illusion

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #266

“My holy Self abides in you, God's Son.”

"A Happy Customer"

Our tourist town is known for its friendly and helpful shopkeepers. Numerous times a day people mention to me how nice everyone has been to them. Upon reflection, I see that it’s easy to be nice to those who are nice to us. And so I look forward to the occasional "tough cookie" who will allow me to see if I'm truly looking past the illusion! Recently, a woman was in my gallery who had nothing but complaints and she wanted to tell me about them in detail. At one point, she was expounding on how awful her husband was. As I didn't want to hear this, I made an attempt at ending the conversation by asking her if she liked her husband. She looked startled and said, Why yes, I do!! And I said, Well, that's all that really matters. For a moment, at the very least, the mesmerism was broken and she was in another reality. One of my favorite stories that Wayne Dyer tells is of walking on the beach and meeting someone who has just moved to the neighborhood. The person asks what people are like there, and he asks in return what the people are like where she came from. She replies that everyone is kind and it was a great place to live. He tells her that's pretty much what she'll find there, too. At another time he's walking on the beach and the same scenario occurs, but this time the person responds that the place they left was filled with rude, stand-off-ish people. He responds, That's pretty much what you'll find here. With that in mind, I will express my holy Self and expect nothing other than that to be bounced back from all I meet. And when it's not, I'll listen expectantly for something which will break the spell!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“He that touches the hem of Christ’s robe and masters his mortal beliefs, animality, and hate, rejoices in the proof of healing,—in a sweet and certain sense that God is Love”.

Science & Health Page 569: 11-14

September 22, 2012 - Gentleness is Realized in Action

"Angelo Drumming in Eureka"
photo by Richard Quick

ACIM Lesson #265

“Creation's gentleness is all I see.

Gentleness and joy are realized in numerous ways, and one of my favorites is a drumming which occurs at the slightest provocation in Eureka Springs.  When one drum is played, the others vibrate in happy unison. When a number of people come together in a joyous activity, they too join the vibration in Oneness objectified. It's a gently powerful experience to be a part of this, and playing a drum is not necessary to feel the unity of the gathering. Like birds dipping and diving without running into each other, while they joyfully play with a freedom which seems hard for us to experience, the rhythms of the drum circle metamorphosize as the two-hour melding progresses. The gentleness which is expressed in these loudly happy gatherings is surprising. At first glance, it may sound like a meaningless cacophony. But if you sit with it for a while, it opens a space within not often noticed. And so, dear friends, let's be on the lookout for experiences which open us to feeling the reality of Oneness. And gentleness isn't always a fuzzy kitten. It could be a roaring symphony!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The new birth is not the work of a moment. It begins with moments, and goes on with years; moments of surrender to God, of childlike trust and joyful adoption of good; moments of self-abnegation, self-consecration, heaven-born hope, and spiritual love.” Miscellaneous Writings, 1883-1896, p. 15

September 21, 2012 - I Am Love

"Aaron & Friends in Mongolia"
photographer unknown

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #264

“I am surrounded by the Love of God.”

Often it seems impossible to keep out the barrage of false beliefs which we're exposed to every day. Media, in various forms. permeates our every waking moment -- if we let it. Recently I spent two hours in the laundromat with a radio playing in the background. This forced exposure graphically brought into focus how insane the content was! The songs were totally inane and yet mesmerizing, the commercials were mostly for drugs and disease, the news -- yikes!! When I stop and think about it, almost everything out there carries these messages to us. It even seems that collective consciousness gives us no choice. But this is the illusion. This illusion is not the consciousness of Love which is God. Love permeates everything, leaving no room for anything else to intrude. Nothing but this Love truly has power.  "Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach me." (MBE) "I am surrounded by the Love of God." (ACIM) When I am tempted to be mesmerized by some material scene, I will remember what  is True. I am surrounded by the Love that is God. And more than that, it is my essence, my essential Being. So I needn't try to see or feel this Love, because it is what I Am.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Think of this, dear reader, for it will lift the sackcloth from your eyes, and you will behold the soft-winged dove descending upon you. The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares. Then thought gently whispers: Come hither! Arise from your false consciousness into the true sense of Love, and behold the Lamb's wife,--Love wedded to its own spiritual idea. Then cometh the marriage feast, for this revelation will destroy forever the physical plagues imposed by material sense.”

Science & Health Page 574: 25-6

September 20, 2012 - I see all in purity

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #263

"David Rajnah Deal"
photo by Richard Quick

“My holy vision sees all things as pure.”

In reflecting upon "my holy vision [which] sees all things as pure", a few instances come to mind when I have seen as God sees -- purely and without judgment. The commentary to today's ACIM lesson asks us to "Let all appearances seem pure .. that we may pass them by in innocence ...". Wow! I want to do that, don't you?  Every day we have opportunities to see situations with "holy vision". Recently I've been involved in a circumstance which seemed to have no happy resolution, with someone being left out regardless of the good intentions held by all involved. I allowed about a hundred possibilities of action to pass through my head, before catching on to the futility of pondering these intellectual choices. After turning from the material picture, I settled into a quiet space of listening. Almost immediately an interesting possibility came to thought! And it was a very exciting option for all involved. Who knows where this will lead these two dear people when the idea is presented to them? I sure don't! But I have complete trust that the situation will be viewed through the pure vision of our real Being, allowing all the seeming problems to disappear into their actual nothingness, while revealing new perceptions and possibilities.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The age has not wholly outlived the sense of ghostly beliefs. It still holds them more or less. Time has not yet reached eternity, immortality, complete reality. All the real is eternal. Perfection underlies reality. Without perfection, nothing is wholly real. All things will continue to disappear, until perfection appears and reality is reached. We must give up the spectral at all points. We must not continue to admit the somethingness of superstition, but we must yield up all belief in it and be wise. When we learn that error is not real, we shall be ready for progress, ‘forgetting those things which are behind.’”

Science & Health Page 353:13-24

September 19, 2012 - No Differences Today

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #262

“Let me perceive no differences today.”

Photo by Marsha Havens

To the uninitiated in divinely metaphysical thought, there is a sentence in today's workbook lesson which could appear to be saying that Jesus is being singled out as the One Son which God created.  And he is, but in the inclusive sense that we All are! This consciousness which Jesus told us about IS that true being which we speak of so often. This one Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love -- God, if you will -- cannot be split between you and me, it cannot shine from one and not from the other. William Blake says it well: "I am in you and you in me, mutual in divine Love", which means that the perfection we are learning to see as ourselves also is everyone else. I often tell people “We’re all in this together”, but I think I’ll change it to “We are all this – together!” I love the study of this Science of Being, as every day -- every moment -- revelations of thought bring us to the understanding of how this Truth sets us free!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science.”

Science and Health Page 469:30–5

September 18, 2012 - Clearing Away the Past

"Mongolia Adventures"
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Lesson #261

“God is my refuge and security."

We all are in the process of getting rid of unnecessary things. The things we no longer need come in different forms. They may be cluttering up our house and material surroundings. More importantly, we're clearing out thoughts and beliefs which no longer are needed in our newfound perception of reality. The last time I changed residences was almost two decades ago. At that time, I got rid of every possession I didn't feel was absolutely necessary. It was a freeing act which facilitated dropping sad and perhaps guilt-filled memories from the past decade of combined illness, death, divorces, and other drama-filled events. And so I know it is part of the process, this freeing of ourselves from outer shackles in order to spur us to let go of the inner turmoil. Or is it letting go of the inner turmoil which spurs getting rid of “stuff”? This letting go seems to involve a reciprocal effect, in that the more we let go of either, the more we let go of the other! Recently, I’ve noticed that the simplicity of the surroundings I chose many years ago has disappeared. Just as we accumulate more and more books and music and all sorts of things, so we also accumulate so-called emotional baggage. Now is the time to take more positive action toward this cleansing which allows the Source of all true refuge and security to be realized in its totality. I Am, God Is, I Am…

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free! This is your divine right. The illusion of material sense, not divine law, has bound you, entangled your free limbs, crippled your capacities, enfeebled your body, and defaced the tablet of your being.”

Science & Health Page 227:24-29

September 17, 2012 - I Remember

"Mongolia Campfire"
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Lesson #260

“Let me remember God created me.”

In today's remembering of my true creation, I think of glimpses of the Truth of Being. Many moments of perfect peace and joy stand out in memory, and it's easy to think replicating them is what this study is all about. And maybe it is! But that's beside the point. The point is in remembering that I am a reflection of divine Mind. This Source of our being is Spirit. That is our essence. We are not material; we are spiritual. In its infinitude, divine Mind  knows nothing of the material beings we are portraying. As various sages have told us, "We're not material beings having a spiritual experience; we're spiritual Beings having a material experience." Today I will remember not to limit God through my expectations. One of my favorite books is "Practicing the Presence" by Joel Goldsmith. In it we are reminded that Truth is experienced in the stillness within our own selves. We hear this stillness when we quiet material senses. It needn't be for a long period, but it does need to be thorough. And so I will look for every opportunity to slip into a few moments of deep stillness, and let them spill over at their will.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Infinite Mind creates and governs all, from the mental molecule to infinity. This divine Principle of all expresses Science and art throughout His creation, and the immortality of man and the universe. Creation is ever appearing, and must ever continue to appear from the nature of its inexhaustible source. Mortal sense inverts this appearing and calls ideas material. Thus misinterpreted, the divine idea seems to fall to the level of a human or material belief, called mortal man. But the seed is in itself, only as the divine Mind is All and reproduces all--as Mind is the multiplier, and Mind's infinite idea, man and the universe, is the product. The only intelligence or substance of a thought, a seed, or a flower is God, the creator of it."

Science & Health Page 507:24-6